Northampton

Northampton is the county town of Northamptonshire in the Midlands region of central England. Its name means "home town", and the prefix "North" was added to distinguish it from other "Hamptons" such as Southampton. A small rural settlement existed in the area during the Roman era, and, during the Viking invasions of England, the city was turned into a burh stronghold. After the Danish conquest of Mercia in 874, Northhamtun became the capital of Heimiliborg, a Viking city-state which would ultimately have an earl and an army. In 918, Heimiliborg was reconquered by King Edward the Elder of Wessex, and it became a river port and trading center on the River Nene. It successfully resisted a Danish attack in 940, but it was burned by an invading Danish army in 1010 and was again burned in 1065 by the rebellious northern earls Edwin, Earl of Mercia and Morcar. By 1086, Northampton had 2,000 residents, and Northampton Castle was built at around the same time. The castle was an occasional royal residence from the time of King Henry I of England in 1130 until the reign of Richard II of England in the late 14th century, and royal tournaments and feasts were also held at the castle. In 1189, King Richard I of England granted the town a charter in exchange for financial support for the Third Crusade. In 1349, the Black Death killed half of Northampton's population, and it fell to 2,200 residents in 1377. It came to lose its wealth and importance as a national center, and, by the time of the English Civil War, Northampton's connection to the crown had faded such that it was staunchly supportive of the Parliamentarian cause. The Great Fire of Northampton in 1675 destroyed 600 buildings and caused £150,000 in property damage, and an Act of Parliament was passed to supervise the town's rebuilding. By the end of the 18th century, Northampton had become a center of the footwear and leather manufacturing industries amid the start of the Industrial Revolution, and it grew rapidly with the mechanization of factories in the mid-19th century. Around the same time, new railroads were built which linked Northampton to other major cities. The town expanded further during the 1920s, and, after World War II, it became a commuter town for London. It also became a predominantly Conservative Party-supporting city during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In 2018, Northampton had a population of 225,146 people, with 84.5% being white, 6.4% South Asian, 5.1% black, 3.2% mixed race, .3% Arab, and .5% other.